[Song] Mason Summit – Thoughts & Prayers

Whether you’ve followed his musical trajectory or you’ve fallen into one of his releases along the way, it’s incredibly easy to relate to Mason Summit’s oeuvre. Such is certainly the case with Summit’s latest single, “Thoughts & Prayers,” a socially-conscious single that allows Summit to perpetuate an ever-growing sense of collective awareness within his music, as well fleshing out a modern Americana theme that is thoroughly tinged with Elliot Smith sensibilities.

One of the most charming aspects of Summit’s music is that whether he plays with form or content, the transformation in his art is apparent, but never jarring. It’s comforting and fascinating to see Summit proceed with a logical and bold evolution through his body of work, and “Thoughts & Prayers: fulfills this evolution quite well. Much like a long-form jam from The Autumn Defense might inform a restrained yet cacophonous strike, so does Summit’s latest. Indeed, “Thoughts & Prayers” finds Summit conducting a wonderful chaos of contemporary alt-Americana arrangements paired with the incredibly prescient message of invoking action rather than pure conviction.

To that end, Summit uses the track to pit traditionalism against the new school approach to American culture, both in terms of literal culture itself and in the sense of musicality. There’s a great deal for purists to hang on to with the classic singer-songwriter power ballad vibe, while also tipping the scales towards a slight electronic, cosmic, and sometimes experimental sound.
Whatever the outcome of the political climate that Summit is appealing to, the songwriter takes a victory in his extended-length single. With a protest anthem of sorts under his belt and a clear mastery of hirsute country-adjacent music, Summit undoubtedly has a clear path in where he will move next. However, we ought to revel in this for time being.